Short answer
The NAICS code for a financial advisor is 523940, Portfolio Management and Investment Advice, when clients pay fees for customized advice or for managing their money: registered investment advisers, fee-only financial planners and wealth managers. It replaced 523920 and 523930 in 2022. Advisors paid mainly through commissions on securities and mutual funds are 523150, Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation, and those selling mainly insurance and annuities are 524210. The SIC codes are 6282, Investment Advice, and 6211 for brokers.
- Fees paid by the client for customized advice or portfolio management: 523940. Commissions on securities: 523150. Commissions on insurance: 524210.
- NAICS 2022 merged 523920 and 523930 into 523940, and 523110 and 523120 into 523150; older forms and sites still show the old codes.
- County Business Patterns 2023, still on NAICS 2017, counted 23,359 investment advice and 44,443 portfolio management establishments with paid employees.
- The SBA's small-business limit for 523940 and 523150 is $47.0 million in average annual receipts; for insurance agencies it's $15.0 million.
- An investor buying and selling on its own account isn't an advisor: that's 523910, Miscellaneous Intermediation.
On this page
- The NAICS codes for financial advisors
- How to choose: who pays you, and for what
- What changed in 2022
- The NAICS code for investment businesses
- SIC codes for financial advisors
- How many advisory firms there are
- SBA size standards
- Where the code is used and what a wrong one costs
- Finding advisory firms by code
- Worked example: coding a hybrid advisory practice
- Sources
- Questions people ask
This page is for financial advisors, planners and wealth managers filling in a form that asks for a NAICS or SIC code (SAM.gov, a bank, a lender, an insurer, a tax return) and for sellers listing advisory firms by code.
The NAICS codes for financial advisors
| NAICS 2022 code | Official title | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 523940 | Portfolio Management and Investment Advice | Managing other people's portfolios for a fee or commission, with authority to make investment decisions, or giving customized investment advice and financial planning for fees paid by the client, without authority to trade. Investment advisers, certified financial planners, wealth managers, fund managers, managing trusts. |
| 523150 | Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation | Buying and selling securities as agents (brokers) on a commission or transaction fee basis, dealing securities, underwriting. Securities and stock brokers' offices, mutual fund agents' offices. |
| 524210 | Insurance Agencies and Brokerages | Selling insurance and annuities as agents or brokers. |
| 523991 | Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities | Trust companies (nondepository) administering personal estates and providing custody. |
| 523910 | Miscellaneous Intermediation | Investors and investment clubs buying and selling financial contracts on their own account. |
How to choose: who pays you, and for what
The 523940 index entries all carry the same qualifier: "customized, fees paid by client." That's the test. The 523150 definition is about acting as an agent "on a commission or transaction fee basis."
| If the business mainly earns... | Use | What the Census definition or index says |
|---|---|---|
| Advisory or planning fees, hourly, flat or retainer (fee-only planner, RIA) | 523940 | "Certified financial planners, customized, fees paid by client" |
| Asset-based fees for managing client portfolios (wealth manager) | 523940 | Portfolio managers "derive fees based on the size and/or overall performance of the portfolio" |
| Commissions on stocks, bonds and mutual funds sold to clients | 523150 | "Securities brokers' offices"; "Mutual fund agents' (i.e., brokers') offices" |
| Commissions on life insurance and annuities | 524210 | Insurance agencies and brokerages |
| A mix of fees and commissions (a hybrid advisor) | The code for the larger revenue stream | Primary activity by revenue (our reading) |
| Trust administration as a nondepository trust company | 523991 | "Trust companies, nondepository" |
| Tax preparation, with planning on the side | 541213, Tax Preparation Services | Tax prep is its own code |
| Consumer credit or debt counseling | 541990, All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | "Consumer credit counseling services" |
| Financial advice to businesses, not investments (fractional CFO) | 541611, Administrative Management and General Management Consulting | "Financial management consulting (except investment advice)" |
| Investment newsletters sold to subscribers | 513120, Periodical Publishers | "Newsletter publishers"; the advice isn't customized (our reading) |
| Automated investment advice for a fee (robo-advisor) | 523940 | Customized advice for client fees (our reading; no index entry) |
An advisor affiliated with a large broker-dealer or RIA platform but running a separate business codes that business by its own revenue mix. The IRS asks for "the principal source of your sales or receipts," and the same logic applies on SAM.gov.
What changed in 2022
NAICS 2022 merged two pairs of codes:
| NAICS 2017 codes (retired) | NAICS 2022 code |
|---|---|
| 523920 Portfolio Management and 523930 Investment Advice | 523940 Portfolio Management and Investment Advice |
| 523110 Investment Banking and Securities Dealing and 523120 Securities Brokerage | 523150 Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation |
If a form or database rejects 523940, it's probably still on NAICS 2017: give 523930 for advice-only work or 523920 for portfolio management, and note the 2022 code.
The NAICS code for investment businesses
"Investment" covers more than advice. Subsector 523, Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities, holds the advisors and brokers above. A company investing its own money in securities is 523910. The pooled fund itself is in 525: 525910 for open-end funds such as mutual funds, 525990 for other financial vehicles. A private equity firm and its funds have their own page, the NAICS code for private equity, and a company that only owns other companies is a holding company. Buying property to rent out is real estate, not finance (see the NAICS code for rental property).
SIC codes for financial advisors
| SIC 1987 | NAICS 2022 codes it maps to |
|---|---|
| 6282 Investment Advice | 523940 only |
| 6211 Security Brokers, Dealers, and Flotation Companies | 523150, 523910, 523999 |
| 6411 Insurance Agents, Brokers, and Service | 524210, 524291, 524292, 524298 |
| 6799 Investors, NEC | 523160, 523910, 523940 |
The SIC code for a fee-based advisor is 6282; for a broker it's 6211. SEC EDGAR also uses a group code, 6200, Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services, that isn't a four-digit SIC industry. To convert other codes, use the NAICS to SIC converter.
How many advisory firms there are
County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 still uses NAICS 2017, so it keeps the retired codes apart. That makes it the last federal count of advice-only firms on their own:
| NAICS 2017 code | Establishments | Employees | Annual payroll | Payroll per employee (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 523930 Investment advice | 23,359 | 110,125 | $18.5 billion | $167,800 |
| 523920 Portfolio management | 44,443 | 420,180 | $118.8 billion | $282,800 |
| 523120 Securities brokerage | 21,990 | 268,731 | $61.8 billion | $229,900 |
| 523110 Investment banking and securities dealing | 3,808 | 90,089 | $40.1 billion | $445,100 |
Together, 523920 and 523930 are the 67,802 establishments that make up 523940. Advice-only firms are the smallest: 19,738 of 23,359 (84.5%) have fewer than five employees. The top states for investment advice are California (3,029), Florida (1,950), Texas (1,764), New York (1,518) and Illinois (886). New York has fewer portfolio management offices than California (2,533 against 4,440) but far more employees (79,725 against 45,395).
CBP counts locations with paid employees, so solo advisors without staff are left out, and a broker-dealer's branch network counts once per branch. For a list of SEC-registered investment advisers, the SEC publishes a monthly file of registered and exempt reporting advisers (October 2026 is the latest at the time of writing).
SBA size standards
From 13 CFR 121.201 on the eCFR (last amended March 17, 2023), average annual receipts over the last five completed fiscal years, affiliates included:
| NAICS code | Small if average annual receipts are no more than |
|---|---|
| 523940 Portfolio management and investment advice | $47.0 million |
| 523150 Investment banking and securities intermediation | $47.0 million |
| 523910 Miscellaneous intermediation and 523991 Trust activities | $47.0 million |
| 524210 Insurance agencies and brokerages | $15.0 million |
| 541213 Tax preparation services | $25.0 million |
The small business size standards page explains how receipts and affiliates are counted.
Where the code is used and what a wrong one costs
- Tax returns. The IRS Schedule C list has 523900, Other financial investment activities (including investment advice), for advisors, 523150 for brokers and 524210 for insurance agencies.
- Banks and lenders. A fee-only planner that writes 523150 or SIC 6211 is describing itself as a broker-dealer, which can trigger different questions.
- Federal contracts. Agencies buying investment or financial advisory services pick one code per solicitation. A firm averaging $20 million is small under 523940 but other than small under 524210.
Finding advisory firms by code
EDGAR lists public companies by SIC: SIC 6282 and SIC 6211. Under 6282 the largest filers are alternative asset managers; the wealth management firms are spread across codes:
| Company | EDGAR SIC | Headquarters | Revenue, latest 10-K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Schwab | 6211 | Westlake, TX | $23.92 billion net revenues (2025) |
| Ameriprise Financial | 6282 | Minneapolis, MN | $18.48 billion net revenues (2025) |
| LPL Financial Holdings | 6200 | San Diego, CA | $16.99 billion total revenue (2025) |
| Raymond James Financial | 6211 | St. Petersburg, FL | $14.07 billion net revenues (year to 30 Sept 2025) |
| Stifel Financial | 6211 | St. Louis, MO | $5.53 billion net revenues (2025) |
For the tens of thousands of independent firms, the SEC's adviser file is the starting list, and a Bebop search takes plain-language criteria (fee-only or hybrid, assets under management, client type, state) and returns firms and contacts with the reason each fits.
Worked example: coding a hybrid advisory practice
Illustrative example. The company and figures are invented.
Harborlight Wealth (harborlight.example) in North Carolina has six advisors. Last year it earned $3.4 million in asset-based advisory fees, $0.9 million in commissions on annuities and life insurance, and $0.4 million in mutual fund commissions through its broker-dealer. Average annual receipts over five fiscal years: $4.2 million.
- Primary code. Advisory fees are 72% of revenue ($3.4 million of $4.7 million): 523940.
- Extra codes. 524210 for insurance and annuity sales; 523150 for securities commissions if a form allows several.
- Size check. $4.2 million is far under every standard here, including $15.0 million for 524210.
- Other forms. SIC 6282 on a bank form; on a Schedule C, 523900.
Next step: if you sell to banks and credit unions rather than advisors, the NAICS code for a bank covers depository institutions and their codes.
Sources
- 2022 NAICS definition: 523940 Portfolio Management and Investment Advice, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2022 NAICS definition: 523150 Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- NAICS concordances (1987 SIC to 2002 NAICS, through 2017 to 2022 NAICS), US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- County Business Patterns: 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Information about registered investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers, US Securities and Exchange Commission, 2 October 2026
- 13 CFR 121.201, What size standards has SBA identified by NAICS codes?, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, accessed 30 October 2026
- 2025 Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040): Principal Business or Professional Activity Codes, Internal Revenue Service, accessed 30 October 2026
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code list, US Securities and Exchange Commission, accessed 30 October 2026
- The Charles Schwab Corporation Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 25 February 2026
- Ameriprise Financial Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 19 February 2026
- LPL Financial Holdings Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 23 February 2026
- Raymond James Financial Form 10-K, fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 25 November 2025
- Stifel Financial Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025, US Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 24 February 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
What is the NAICS code for a financial advisor?
523940, Portfolio Management and Investment Advice, for advisors paid fees by clients for customized advice, financial planning or managing their portfolios. The Census index lists certified financial planners there. Advisors paid mainly by commissions on securities are 523150, and those selling mainly insurance and annuities are 524210. The SBA size standard for 523940 is $47.0 million in average annual receipts.
Is 523930 still a valid NAICS code?
Not in NAICS 2022. 523930, Investment Advice, and 523920, Portfolio Management, were merged into 523940, Portfolio Management and Investment Advice. County Business Patterns 2023, which still uses NAICS 2017, counted 23,359 investment advice establishments under 523930. If a form only accepts 2017 codes, use 523930 for advice-only work and note 523940 as the current code.
What is the SIC code for a financial advisor?
SIC 6282, Investment Advice, which maps to a single NAICS code, 523940. Brokers who sell securities on commission are SIC 6211, Security Brokers, Dealers, and Flotation Companies, and insurance agents are 6411. On SEC EDGAR, Ameriprise files under 6282, Charles Schwab and Raymond James under 6211, and LPL Financial under the group code 6200.
What is the NAICS code for investment?
It depends on whose money. Managing or advising on other people's investments for a fee is 523940. Buying and selling securities on your own account, including investment clubs, is 523910, Miscellaneous Intermediation. A pooled fund is 525910 if it's an open-end fund and 525990 for other financial vehicles. A company that only holds stakes in other companies is 551112, and rental property investing is real estate, in 531.
What NAICS code is a wealth management firm?
523940, Portfolio Management and Investment Advice, when the firm earns asset-based or advisory fees for managing clients' money. If most of its revenue comes from commissions on securities it sells, it's 523150, and if it's a trust company administering estates, 523991. County Business Patterns counted 44,443 portfolio management establishments with paid employees in 2023, paying about $282,800 per employee.